The atmosphere isn't much, but the staff are very friendly and the food my husband and I had was excellent. I had the key wot/zigni (chopped beef simmered in spicy red pepper and herb butter) and my husband had special kitfo (chopped lean beef seasoned with purified butter and spiced pepper -- he ordered the meat rare). There was a good variety of choices, including poultry, lamb, beef and four vegetarian dishes. All orders come with plenty of injera (spongy flatbread). You can also order a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. There are also several wines, beers, and soft drinks to choose from. This is a very authentic dining experience and the staff couldn't be nicer.

I quite like this coffeehouse. It is one of the more hip places in San Jose. A beautiful, open, airy space to eat, drink, read or converse, with eclectic pieces of furniture scattered about comfortably. I haven't tried the coffee but the sambosas are quite good and inexpensive, and they have a good many vegan options ... The only downside is there are often questionable-looking people hanging about so if that makes you uncomfortable you may want to try a different place. Also, the servers are not particularly friendly. They kinda treat you like an incidental. However, as mentioned, the food and atmosphere are generally very good.

This place has EXCELLENT food ... it is cheap and it is unbelievably good. It's a fast food place but very clean and quiet. I go whenever I can; unfortunately there aren't that many locations so I don't get here as often as I'd like.

The uninspiring location in a strip mall is about the only bad thing you can say about this restaurant. The interior is tastefully done, very soothing to the eye, with an attractive bar area up front. The time I went it was pretty early, about 5:30, so I'm sure it isn't always that quiet, but it was pretty darn peaceful, and the waiter sat my husband and me away from the other diners for a little privacy. There's nothing worse than walking into a near-empty restaurant and being sat in a little clump of people all in one section, so this was definitely a welcome touch. I tried the house red, which was very good and inexpensive at $4.95, and together my husband and I consumed about two baskets of the wonderful freshly baked bread, which came with a dish of olive oil, garlic and something else mixed in that was just amazingly good. Couldn't leave it alone. We started off sharing a spinach salad with clams, roasted red peppers and feta -- an unusual combination, but very tasty. As an entree my husband had the seafood pasta (seafood cooked just right, I might add), and I had the gnocchi in mozzarella and marinara sauce with basil -- comfort food at its best. After all the goodies we'd had we decided they must have amazing desserts. Unfortunately they were out of tiramisu (our first choice) but did have bread pudding, our second choice. Although a touch heavy on the nutmeg, a decent bread pudding, and accompanied by truly excellent decaf.
Service was great too, very attentive and considerate without being overbearing. After all the mediocre dining experiences I've had in this area, this is one place that definitely stands above the rest. The next time I want Italian, this is where I'll go.